In silent rooms there is a clutter of canvases, artist paraphernalia, and boxes - many of them containing mementos of a life dedicated to art. Still standing in the middle of the main room is an unfinished painting, his last creation. Unaware of the master's absence lay motionless brushes ready for his strokes of blue and red, except that the tubes of oil paint are dried out, victims of passing time. We found Seichi Kiyohara's studio to be a shrine, a testimony to the endless love of his beloved Tatsuko. She kept it as he had left it seven years ago.
We felt a great expectation; this was the scene of our first encounter with Seichi Kiyohara a Japanese-American artist born in San Francisco in 1921.
"He is remembered by his peers as an artist in the true sense of the word. He devoted his life to creating the essence of his visions without seeking any recognition or fame," recalls his good friend, artist Tadashi Hayakawa.
Seichi Kiyohara is remembered for his exhibitions at the Modern Art Gallery, at the Doizaki Gallery, and at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles, California as well as for his show at the Kumanichi Gallery in Kumamoto, Japan. For many years he also created the holiday cards for the Los Angeles law firm of Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein. He died in April 2006.
ADC & Building Bridges is honored to present the first posthumous retrospective of his works.
by Fabio Banegas
|